Machine for dressing and jointing staves



UNITE STATES H. LAW, OF WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA.

MACHINE FOR DRESSING AND J' OINTIN Gr STAVES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 1,687, dated July 15, 1840.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, H. LAW, of VVilmington, in the county of New Hanoverand State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Machine forDressing Staves for Barrels and other Vessels of Coopers Ware, UsingTherefor Rived Timber, Slabs from Sawmills, and other Stuff of SimilarCharacter, by means of which machine the stuff, after being cut to theproper length, is dressed on both sides and jointed on its edges at oneoperation; and I do hereby declare that the following is Va full andeXact description thereof.

In the accompanying drawing, Figures l, and 2, represent the machine inperspective, and are to be considered as united together at A, A', so asto constitute but one figure; Fig. 3, is a portion of Fig. 2, removedfor the purpose of showing the parts more clearly. Fig. 4- is a verticalsection through Fig. l, in the line a, b.

B, B, are two cheeks, forming the side pieces of a groove, or channel,within which the lengths of stuff to be dressed, are to be dropped, orfed, and within which also they are to be forced forward against thecutting parts of the machine; the forcing forward being effected bymeans of a follower C, C, made to traverse back and forth within thegroove, by steam, water, or other power, the traversing motion beingproduced by a crank, or other ordinary device for giving suchreciprocating motion. The pieces to be dressed are to be fed into thechannel at the part D, D. These pieces may be dropped into said channelsingly, or they may be placed upon each other either edgewise, orflatwise, according to the position in which the machine is placed.uWhen they are to be placed edgewise upon each other, the cheeks B, B,must be widened out at the part D, D, so as to form a kind of narrowhopper; and in this case the lower piece will be propelled by thefollower, and another will fall down on its withdrawal. If fed iniatwise, the part of the cheek marked B', which is represented ashinged, may be re? moved, and a trough, or hopper, be, in like mannerplaced above it.

E, E', are two plane stocks,each having a series of irons, which ironsmay be aiXed in place in the ordinary mode of wedging, or by means ofscrews, or otherwise. The stock E, has the irons rounding, to dress theinside ofthe stave hollow, and in this I have four irons; a good andsufhcient number,

they being soset as to act in succession uponV the stuff. The stock E,has but three irons, which are hollowed on their cutting edges, so as toform the outside of the stave. The

number of irons may, of course, be varied,

determine the width of the staves; these strips may be changed, and thedistance varied, by means of the set screws e, e, c, and the screws f,7, by which the plane stocks are bolted down to the bed G, Gr, of themachine.

The curved part is in like manner confined and adjusted by means of thescrews p 79",

and (l, e

As the rived stuff, or slabs, will frequently be too thick, or too wide,to enter into the space H, between the faces of the two plane stocks,and the two strips F, F, I arm the end of the plane stock E, with afrow, or cutting edge, as seen at I, which is flush, on its inner side,with the face of the plane; this serves to cut off any superfluousstuff, and to reduce it in thickness to the required degree. Tol reducethe width of such pieces as may require it, I also place a cuttingknife, or Vfrow, on the fore end of the strip F, as shown at J, whichfrow is flush with the lower side of said strip.

Fig. 6, is a represe-ntation of the plane stock E, removed from itsplace; as in this stock the irons g, h, z', 7', are to cut the stuff insuccession, and are set out, or project forward in the order of theletters, and as it is necessary that they should be set rank, so as tocut to a considerable depth, the face of the rounding part of the planeis reduced from the back of each cutting edge, to the front of thecutting edge next behind it, for, it is manifest, that the staves wouldotherwise become wedged, or jammed, in passing from one to the other;the back ends of the faces of the planes must necessarily be as muchnearer to each other than the frontends as is equal to the wholethickness to be taken off from the stud; what is said, therefore, ofreducing the faces, will apply equally to the face of each plane; alongitudinal section through the middle of the face of each plane wouldconsequently present a line resembling that marked 7c, Z. I nd it usefulto place a spring m, on the face Vof the plane E, to press against thestaves are thus prepared for beingV jointed on their edges, Which is soeffected by the curved.'

part of the machine, Figs. 2, and 8, as to diminish them inividtlifrom'the middle to- VWard eac'hendin such degree `as to give the j 1 thecurved box, thus allowing the space O,

proper bulge to the bari-el when finished.

- K, K, is a curved box into Which the staves pass 4immediately, aftertheyleave the planes E, E', and at the bottom and top of this box Vthereis a series of'jointing irons placed near t0 each other, by ivhichthetwo edges of the staves are to be jointed. These irons being Y placednear to eachV other; it is not necessary in the" operationof jointing,to reduce the faces of the stocks in Which they are set, as is done withthe dressing planes.

As the staves VWhen they leave the dressing planes are straight,longitudinally, it is manifest that in passing along the curved box,their `ends' Willbe in contact With the concave side of the interiorthereof, and

their niiddles against, or approaching toV Ward, its convex side, andthatV in conseT quence of this the ends will be jointed by thoseportions of the plane irons which are against the concave, and theirmiddles by the portion toward" the convex side, and so of theintermediate parts. The bottom of this box, with its series of planeirons, is lsfeell .at

L, L; the upper plane stock, Vforining the top of this box is shownseparately at M M,

. Fig. 3. The faces of the plane stocks form- ,ing the bottom and'top of.thisbox are not parallel to each other, either longitudinally ortransversely, being of necessity nearer to each at the delveryend of thejointed stave,

than at the part Where it enters. Transversely, the faces of theseplanes are much nearer to each other toward the concave than they aretoward the convex side of the iii- L, being the lower, and M, the upperplane stock, and N, the space between them in the curved box; the dottedlines m', m', represent the insertions ofthe plane irons; n, theconcaveand 0, the convex side of the box.

Y The bed G, G, of the machine is cut away in the middle along theextent ofthe planes of in accordance With the lessened diameter` of thebarrel'which they are to'form..v

i Having thus, fiilly described thema-nner in which 'I construct mymachine `for the dressing and jointing of staves froinyrived timber,slabs, Snc., A.and having also explained the roperation thereof, what lclaim as constituti-ng my invention therein, and which I desire :tosecure by 1 Letters Patent, is-

1 Theinanner ,ofconstructingand coinbining the part fordressing thefaces of the staves, aS set forth, with the curved box, constructed asset forth, and 'furnishedWi-th a series .of jointing irons contained instocks forming the upper and lower `portions of said box; the faces ofksaid plane stocks approaching'each other on the concave ,side of thenteriorof said box, `for the purpose, `and operating substantially inthe manner, herein set forth.

2. I Valso claim `the said curved box,` for jointing staves, inwiits4individual capacity, the respective partsV thereof being` constructed,and connected', Aas herein described.

i HERVEYLAW.

y Witnesses:

VMfW. Efiiiiis, j J CHN C.: SAVAGE.,

